Just as I was vowing never again to put this chore off for so long, in walked our brand new neighbors from down the hall.  Granted, I was a bit embarrassed, but I didn't stress over it, and we had a nice little get acquainted visit.

Although we seemingly liked each other, the lack of commonality and similar interest did not set the stage for a close relationship.  We wave to each other and give cordial greetings, but, they haven't had an occasion to be back in my office.

It took me the entire next week of evening work, with assistance, to get it my office organized again, new files set up, shredding or tossing the unwanted files and quite a bit of spit and polish!  Whew!  Was I ever glad that job was done!

Six months later at a business social gathering, about a dozen of us were visiting and our website, "PackedWarehouse.com," became the focus of the conversation.  A couple of the business people had been on our site and had purchased several organizing products; they were praising the high quality of the products.  My "new" neighbor chimed in and said, "Maybe you should buy some of your own products" and proceeded to share with the group the mess my office was in the day they came to visit. 

Although, it did cross my mind that I could now see more clearly why we lacked similar interest, instead I found myself reflecting on the old cliché, "One only has one opportunity to make a first impression."  The likelihood of me changing my new neighbor's first impression of my office organizing skills is probably gone forever. 

It certainly caused me to ponder.  I had always thought of first impressions as being related to the first time people meet, maybe the first time they come to your home, and maybe even the impression of a fancy office compared to a more meager setting.  But, I had not given much thought to the first impression of a disorganized office and how it might affect a person's business.

It made me wonder how in-depth is the first impression?   Could a business miss that "big" opportunity because a prospective client's negative first impression of a messy disorganized office?  Does that negative first impression linger?  How much does it really affect an individuals' career path; could it even influence whether they are promoted or possibly terminated.  How transferable is a first impression? Did I lose prospective customers because of my new neighbor's first impression of my organizational ability?